MPG, why so low?

[fredster34]

i have an '06 LE (4-cyl) with barely 800 miles on it. the tires are inflated to the correct pressure. i do mainly conservative freeway driving. i can only get about 23-24 MPG. why so low? i would be happy with 26-28 MPG.

the fuel system can't be clogged, it's a brand new car. i'm thinking since the Gen5 has a bigger engine than my old Gen4, it uses more gas. then again, shouldn't the new engine technology perform better? i'm so disappointed that the car is not meeting the 24/32 (city/fwy) MPG estimates. should I have the dealer look at it?

[05lim]

depends on the driving you do. a mixture between highway and city miles vary. i have a 05 SE v6 and i get about 24 mpg because i do a mix. but when i do a constant 80 i think i got about like 28 or 29 when i went down to LA

[Gary_602Z]

Man the car isn't even broke in yet! Wait until you get 3-5k on it. It will come up.

Gary

[fredster34]

Originally Posted by Gary_602Z

Man the car isn't even broke in yet! Wait until you get 3-5k on it. It will come up.

Gary

Yo G-Man,

i hope you're right about MPG increasing after a good break-in. i was just getting a little frustrated with the low mileage on a freakin 4-cylinder car?!

[Donald]

Consumer Reports recently did an article on those MPG figures that the manufacutrers and the EPA put out. They said that they are not real world figures in many instances as they do not account for stop and go traffic or variations in actual vehicle production differences.
These figures are usually arrived at by the manufacturer choosing the best performing car from that model line and running it on a dyno. They do not drive in traffic, up and down hills and into or with the wind nor do they average out between the best and worst performing of several cars of that model.
All these factors along with your driving style and the amount of weight you have in your car can change your milage figures. They said some hybrid cars were among some of the worst cases in the differences between posted and tested figures.

[TriumphGT6]

Don't worry. I just rebuilt a 1998 Camry LE and it is getting 22 with me driving like an old man.

Breaking in means wearing all of the moving parts so machining flaws are minimized. Right now its the resistence holding up the MPG. Just change the oil at the appropriate times and baby it, and you'll get there.

BTW - My 1991 Lincoln Town Car which has 85,000 miles (10K on crank regrind) gets 20/25 on regular(me driving like like a really old man), and it gets 16/22 when I ram on it! Because of the exhaust setup I was able to remove the catalytic converters and replace them with test pipes. It also had a noticeable improvement in pickup.

It's Just a Waiting Game,
GT6

[kenny1773]

My 2005 I-4 SE took about 1000 miles to start showing good mileage. I put mobil I oil in it at about 5000

If you read the fine print on the 34MPG highway rating, you will see this happens at 52mph If you found a road that went on for miles that was flat and you locked the cruise control at 55 and drove the entire gas tank out, you would see 34.

The best I got on the highway with 2 adults, 2 kids and luggage, with cruise on a little over 65 mph for most of the tank was 32mpg. The car had about 6000 miles on it at that point.

I consistantly get 22mpg in city only driving.

[BlackCamSe]

Man you are lucky. My 2005 4-cyl LE gets 20 to 21 mpgs

[ASG14]

My Mom's '05 LE I4 got 34MPG on a 1000 mile or so round trip to SC averaging 75mph.

[elhsgrad04]

i get 25 but i drive hard 03 4 cyl camry

[V6LE_CAMRY]

try a different gas brand...

[Donald]

I guess my '90 V6 wagon is doing alright then, it gives about 18 around town and on long trips, Greensboro, Nc. to Miami, Fla. 24 mpg running at about 75 -85 mph.

My last trip over the Christmas Holidays I only got about 19mpg though, 4 people in the car, trunk full of luggage, pulling a flatbed trailer with a plastic gargo box with more luggage, averaging 75mph.

233K miles on the odometer, engine rebuilt at 175K, only because of blown head gasket.
The mechanic said it had no wear in the cylinders, so he just replaced the rings and bearings.

I LOVE MY TOYOTAS!!!

[ycchang73]

i met the same problem. My 06 camry (LE, 4-cyl) only get 15 mpg when I do local driving. The odometer is about 1100 miles. i remember the highway mpg could reach to 26-28 at the begining of my car. Is that normal?

[ghettosled]

just for comparison sake, during the warmer months i average 32 mpg on the highway with my 96 4-banger. my personal best is 37.1 mpg on a 500 mile trip - and that was keeping the speedo between 75 and 80 for most of the trip.

you should get better gas mileage after break-in, plus (i know people will give me flack about this) i run my tire pressure at about 45 psi for less rolling resistance.

[amerikim]

I get lousy milage because I quit driving like I wanted more mpg.
You want to get worse milage? Run studded tires.